A whipsaw stops out a long and then a short in quick succession. It is common around news, at the open, and in chop. Indicators such as macd generate false crossovers in whipsaw conditions.
Wider stops based on atr reduce whipsaw losses at the cost of larger individual losses when the stop is hit.
Example: a breakout above $50 triggers longs, price drops to $49.20 stopping them out, then rallies to $52. Both the long entries and any shorts taken on the drop were whipsawed.